LATEST ARTICLES
 
hs-2014-43-a-print

Hubble Finds 200 Billion Orphan Stars Adrift Between Galaxies, Torn Free Due To Collision

by on November 10, 2014
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, as part of its Frontier Fields project, has detected the glow of a massive collection of approximately 200 billion orphan stars ripped from their parent galaxies billions of years ago due to a major collision.  The distance to the clusters is 4 billion light years.  The cluster itself is nicknamed “Pandora’s […]
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

A Genetically-Engineered Modular AND Logic Gate Curtails, Kills And Prevents Metastasis Of Bladder Cancer

by on November 8, 2014
Scientists have designed a new kind of modular, “logic circuit” therapy, by realizing a genetic AND gate that combines information from two kinds of inputs to render an active therapy.   The circuit was applied to bladder cancer cells by uptake as a strand of DNA containing the genetic components.  When taken up by normal cells […]

7799858616_6b9b79bcb6_b

Combustionless Electricity Generation From Jet-Fuel With Novel Biofuel Reactions

by on November 7, 2014
Scientists have created the first room-temperature fuel cell that exploits the high energy density of jet fuels to generate electricity directly without the need for an internal combustion engine.  Prior attempts to use alkane-based liquids such as jet fuel have led to degradation of the metal catalysts due to presence of high concentrations of sulfur […]
19191446_ee8c0fe4f6_o

Synthetic Platelet Super-Mimics Halt Bleeding Three Times Faster

by on November 6, 2014
An additive nanoparticle manufacturing process has been used to design and realize a synthetic platelet for the first time.  The platelets are “super mimics”, matching the natural shape, size, flexibility, and surface biochemistry of real platelets unlike prior incarnations that match only one or two qualities.  The synthetic platelets were applied in an animal model of bleeding to […]

2660064932_ca0c79d243_b

Drug Unlocks Malleable, Fast-Learning, Child-LIke State In Adult Brain

by on November 4, 2014
Professor Carla Shatz of Stanford University and her colleagues have discovered a way to revert an adult brain to the “plastic”, child-like state that is more able to form new connections quickly.  The technical term “plastic” implies the ability to adapt or shape itself to new conditions.  The striking results were revealed through experiments on […]
9481065687_2f906be2eb_b

Highly Efficient Laser-Ablation Propulsion System At Supersonic Speeds

by on October 30, 2014
Conventional rockets and aircraft exploit a combination of conservation of momentum and Newton’s third law to generate thrust via the expulsion of propellant mass from a nozzle to escape Earth’s atmosphere or travel through the atmosphere or space.  However, the expense and difficulty of the technique has prompted engineers and scientists to devise alternative methods […]

7257300868_424f95cb64_o

World Losing 2,500 Hectares Of Irrigated Land Per Day To Salt Damage

by on October 29, 2014
A study by scientists at the UN University’s Institute for Water, located in Ontario, Canada, revealed that 17 million hectares of arable land has been lost to salinization in the period from 1995 to 2013.  The loss rate is computed at a staggering 2,500 hectares per day, or equivalently 4,600 American football fields.  Viewed another […]
brainhighlight

Clinical Trial Shows Cocoa Diet Reverses Age-Related Memory And Cognitive Decline: 60 Year Old Cognition Reverted to 30-40 Year Old

by on October 27, 2014
A new study and clinical trial by scientists at Columbia University Medical Center has shown that in healthy human adults, a diet of cocoa that is rich in flavanols is able to reverse the effects of age-related memory decline.  Imaging reveals one region of the brain that is responsible for the improvement in cognition.  The […]

EskildEbbesen2012BronzeDSR

21 Year Study Of Danish Olympic Rower Shows Remarkable Two Decade Maintenance Of Peak Physical Performance

by on October 27, 2014
Aging is associated with physical decline.  Previous studies have pointed out in average people, the maximum heart rate, the amount of oxygen carried by each beat of the heart, and maximum blood oxygen saturation all drop over the course of years.  But what if the decline is not inevitable?  Scientists have now studied a case […]
80534_web

Biofuels Advancement: Cress Plant Engineered To Yield 150-Fold More Energy-Dense Biodiesel Molecules

by on October 25, 2014
Biodiesels are fuels used in standard combustion engines and usually are generated from an esterification reaction combining an alcohol with vegetable oil and animal fat among other biolipids.  Vegetable oils in turn are extracted from plants, in particular their seeds, as the lipid content of leaves, stems and stalks are low in oil. Now scientists […]